A report on the game by an Orlando Fox affiliate bills the title as promoting abstinence among kids and works by using “simulation and digital puppetry.” Charles Hughes, a UCF Computer Science Professor described it by saying, “…one person controls many characters by jumping into the skin.”

The price tag of the game was put at around $434,000, which seems exorbitant until you consider that the game makes use of motion-capture suits and infra-red lights which enable users to control the on-screen avatars. The game is expected to be completed next year.

A Fox anchor introduced the story by noting that “It is your money and the University of Central Florida is using it for a surprising project.”

Comments

Now that I am thinking about it, even the title of this post really bothers me. "Pre-Teen Boys Will Hate This Game" falls into the cultural assumption that boys want sex, girls do not; which a lot of women are getting really sick of.

Young girls are very often "pressured" into sex before they're ready. Not that we weren't interested in sex, just most of us want to go at a slower pace than boys expect. And young boys are douchebags about it. Their favorite tactics are to either equate love with sex (and therefore the girl is betraying their relationship by holding out), or they dump the girl for someone else they think is more likely to put out, giving the rest of the girls the clear message that their worth rest soley on how quickly they'll spread their legs.

Abstinence is a related but separate issue. I don't think it works. It ignores the fact that most teens are not religious, and ignores the fact that most teens are bursting at the seams with hormones telling them to do what comes natural. Just look at the whole Palin thing. Palin trumpets the virtues of abstinence only education, her own daughter gets pregnant, and then she wonders why people are picking on her for pointing out this blatant evidence that abstinence only education didn't work.

Last note. Games with a message are rarely "fun," and therefore fail to inspire and teach. This is a waste of money.

Its natural, in a lot of cases the guys who won't pressure the girls into sex are the ones who are the most unnactractive and are the ones who lack sexual confidence. Of course there are always religous guys or nice jocks, but the biggest players know they want sex, and their comfort and confidence with their sexuality is what makes them attractive.

Aka, unconfident guys always finish last. There's nothing sexy about a guy who is needy, boring, and too nice, and therefore girls date the ones who are most likely to pressure them into having sex. We males want and enjoy sex, those of us that hide our sexual side trying to be "nice" are the ones who end up with the least girlfriends.

Why is it that a person has to be 18 or older in order to "view" sex (videos, magazines) but there's no age regulation to actually participate in the act?

I think it should be illegal for anyone under 18 to be sexually active, the same way that it is a crime for an adult to have sex with a minor. It seems that its a "crime" because one is over 18 and not because the other person is under 18.

The reason why kids do it is because parents don't really know[care] how to teach their children that there's a place and time for everything. And the fact that most of the sluts* out there are on the kid's side on the issue, further adds fuel to the fire.

Ahm, it IS illegal for people under certain ages to be sexually active. Those age based laws generally (it varries from state to state, a few have been updating) do not have an exception for both participants being underaged. The laws apply the same if it is two 15 year olds or a 15 and a 30 year old.

I appreciate somebody taking a stand but it's the parents who should be taught, as well as the children. This subject should also be taught for all forms of peer pressure and for both genders, not one or the other. I feel that's rather self-explanatory, however.

I dislike the use of the word slut. Society's double standards with men and women are something I really don't like at all. I'm vacationing in India right now and hate how conservative everything is and all the hurdles two couples have to get through to even meet up. A major reason behind this are the double standards applied to girls and boys. Boys can go out with their friends whenever they like but girls are always supposed to be at home and innocent. This will be a huge challenge to overcome for me.

Did you watch the way she got flustered just by starting to describe basic sexual interactions such as 'making out' (oh god the horror won't someone think of the children!) So much of this problem could be avoided with more competant parents getting over this whole 'head in the sand' approach to teaching sexuality to children.

My parents answered my questions and gave me books to read when I was young (the classic Where did I come from? book and such) and I felt no overwhelming curiousity about exploring girls bodies outside of normal teenage horniness. Lost my virginity when I was close to 17 and 'remarkably' didn't get her pregnant because we both had been educated properly and made intelligent (well, intelligent for two randy teenagers) decisions.

Seriously, it's sex and mating. It's something we've been doing the entire length of human history (no matter which version of said history you subscribe to), it's about time to grow up and talk about it comfortably. We wouldn't be here if someone you've known for a long time didn't do the happy dance ;)

At fist I was shocked that this was made to help keep PRE-teen girls from having sex. All I could think was, Seriously, PRE-teen?!? Are there really that many pre-teens having sex?

Then I watched the video and found out it was to keep middle school kids from kissing and making out (i.e. being middle school kids), and I went from being all for it to being against it. Stop keeping kids from being kids. I guarentee that woman that's helping design and make the game did the same fucking things when she was in middle school.

I live in Tasmania (Australia) which is a very country environ (no matter how much they wish to think they're worldly.) There is a town under an hours drive away which commonly has girls as young as 12 falling pregnant. Partially because the children don't know anythinga part from drinking and screwing, and because they've never been given any education as to look beyond the immediate consequences of their actions.

When Australia used to have a baby bonus (was implanted to encourage population growth to counter the aging population problem) it was common to hear "oh I'll have a baby and get that $5000 to spend on a new tv awesome!" without a single drip of irony or comprehension of how much it costs to raise a child properly.

Pre-teens having sex, especially in low education area is not really that uncommon.

Of course I don't see how they're going to reach comprehension from using zombie looking 3d interactive games.

I'm still not sold on the myth that teen-to-college age girls are somehow "forced" to have sex due to peer or male pressure. Unless I've been living in a different world (and I have not), it always seemed younger women were quite sex-driven on their own. Many held quite a bit of power over their awkward male peers.

I think the problem here is that the lesson will never be learned because it's all the way on the other side of the uncanny valley, where human-esque puppets twitch and shake in disturbing ways while asking you to make out.

The only reason abstinence education "fails" is because the kids do not have a compelling interestin in abstaining. There are millions of people who successfully abstain until marriage all because they have such a reason. Most often it is religious, but there are still secular reasons.

For example, abstinence is the only 100% protection from unwanted pregnancy.

The problem with abstinence only education is not the effectiveness of abstinence itself, but the fact the education makes the alternative more risky. It is a classic 'do as we say, or we will make sure you suffer as much as possible if you do not follow our morals' setup.

It is also a very 'stick your head in the sand' approach... kinda a scummy one actually since anyone who suffers from such programs you can just label as delinquent and thus 'got what they deserve'

You're right that abstinence is the only sure method of protection against pregnancy and std's/sti's.

The problem with abstinence education is that it ignores the large (I would argue majority) number that don't follow it. They're left without proper information regarding other forms of protection that allow for safer sex.

Also, the fact that a show exists called "16 and pregnant" pretty much negates the argument that a comprehensive program would encourage kids to have dangerous sex.

"...designed to teach pre-teen girls how to fend off peer pressure-driven sex."

"... bills the title as promoting abstinence among kids..."

Make up your mind. Either it is teaching ONLY girls how to fend off peer pressure-driven sex or it is for promoting abstinence among ALL kids.

Oh, wait, I forgot. The stereotype is that only boys pressure girls into sex. Only girls can be forced into sex. Only males can be accused of rape or child molestation. We just GOTTA keep those stereotypes alive and well, don't we?

Shout box

Infophile: @Matt: Apparently Dan Aykroyd actually is involved. We don't know how yet, though, but he's apparently going to be in the movie in some way.08/02/2015 - 4:17am

Mattsworkname: I still hold that not having the origonal cast invovled in any way hurts this movie, and unless the 4 actresses in the lead roles can some how measure up to the comic timing of the origonal cast, i just don't see it being a success08/02/2015 - 12:46am

Mattsworkname: Mecha: regardless of what you think of it, GB 2 was a finanical success and for it time did well with audiances ,even if it wasnt as popular as the first08/02/2015 - 12:45am

MechaTama31: I think they're better off trying to do something different, than trying to be exactly the same and having every little difference held up as a shortcoming. Uncanny valley.08/01/2015 - 11:57pm

MechaTama31: Having the original cast didn't do much for... that pink-slimed atrocity which we must never speak of.08/01/2015 - 11:56pm

Mattsworkname: Andrew: If the new ghostbusters bombs, I cant help but feel it'll be cause it removed the origonal cast and changed the formula to much08/01/2015 - 8:31pm

Andrew Eisen: Not the best look but that appears to be a PKE meter hanging from McCarthy's belt.08/01/2015 - 7:34pm

Mattsworkname: You know what game is a lot of fun? rocket league. It' s a soccer game thats actually fun to play cause your A Freaking CAR!08/01/2015 - 7:02pm

Mattsworkname: Nomad colossus did a little video about it, showing the world and what can be explored in it's current form. It's worth a look, and he uses text for commentary as not to break the immerison08/01/2015 - 5:49pm

Mattsworkname: I feel some more mobility would have made it more interesting and I feel that a larger more diverse landscape with better graphiscs would help, but as a concept, it interests me08/01/2015 - 5:48pm

Andrew Eisen: Huh. I guess I'll have to check out a Let's Play to get a sense of the game.08/01/2015 - 5:47pm

Mattsworkname: It did, I found the idea of exploring a world at it's end, exploring the abandoned city of a disappeared alien race and the planets various knooks and crannies intriqued me.08/01/2015 - 5:46pm

Andrew Eisen: Did it appeal to you? If so, what did you find appealing?08/01/2015 - 5:43pm

Mattsworkname: Its an interesting concept, but it's not gonna appeal to everyone thats for sure,08/01/2015 - 5:40pm

Andrew Eisen: That sounds horrifically boring. Doesn't sound like an interesting use of its time dilation premise either. 08/01/2015 - 5:36pm

Mattsworkname: an observer , seeing this sorta frozen world and being able to explore without any restriction other then time. no enimes, no threats, just the chance to explore08/01/2015 - 5:34pm

Mattsworkname: Andrew: I meant lifeless planet, Time frame is an exploration game. Your dropped onto a world which is gonna be hit by a metor in 10 seconds, but due to time dilation ,you actually have ten minutes, so you can explore the world, in it's last moments, as08/01/2015 - 5:32pm